UNTWO commends fight poverty campaign

23 October 2006

Referring to the strong links
between leisure, tourism and poverty reduction UNWTO Assistant Secretary
General Geoffrey Lipman commended the 9th World Leisure Congress for
joining the global campaign to stand up against poverty and for the
Millennium Development Goals.
In his remarks, he identified the emergence of a form of responsible
enjoyment embodied in the UNWTO’s Global Code of Ethics for Tourism
which leaves a positive impact on visitors, on host communities and on
the ecosystems it impacts. Noting that, the world is increasingly
recognizing the beneficial socioeconomic impact of that mobile form of
leisure and its great potential for the poorest countries -particularly
in Africa.

China, so embodies the spirit and the realization of the tourism
paradigm. In less than 2 decades, under the balanced dynamism of the
socialist market economy, China has become the fourth largest
international tourist export market and is on track to become the
largest market in the next two decades. And with its rapidly expanding
middle class this is destined to become the largest two way market in
the world.

Significantly, these opportunities are progressively opening to a
massive domestic market as well as the booming international one. In
this way China can use tourism to respond to its own poverty challenges,
as well as help other states to develop their tourism exports to respond
to theirs.

There is no other industry that can do more than tourism, to directly
deliver export income, to provide wages, to create jobs and to attract
investment. Particularly where it adopts for responsible and sustainable
consumption and production practices, which the UNWTO is championing.
And where as a consequence it engages local partners, links with
Information technology advances community based education and teaches
quality service with sustainable delivery.

At the conclusion of the remarks 2000 attendees stood for a minute to
express their support for the antipoverty campaign. To show solidarity
with the poor and a sign of commitment to the Millennium Development
Goals.——-